Yoga is a detox­i­fy­ing prac­tice in many realms, but some pos­es detox­i­fy a bit more than oth­ers due to the com­pres­sion of the organs or the posi­tion of the head and heart. When you do yoga, your body cleans­es itself to rid waste prod­uct or built-up tox­ins. So if you’re slug­gish or down this sum­mer, try these detox­i­fy­ing pos­es to feel your best.

Down­ward Fac­ing Dog
Down­dog is detox­ing in the fact that the head is low­er than the heart, which revers­es the pull of grav­i­ty and aids in cir­cu­la­tion of the blood and lymph. Also, there is a slight abdom­i­nal com­pres­sion when the navel is drawn in toward the spine.

To get into the pose, start onto all fours. Place your hands a cou­ple inch­es in front of the shoul­ders and curl your back toes under­neath. Slow­ly, lift the hips upward as you simul­ta­ne­ous­ly low­er the heels to the ground. Roll the shoul­ders away from the ears and keep the breath flu­id. Hold for 30- 60 seconds.

Supine Spinal Twists
Spinal twists stim­u­late diges­tion and facil­i­tate the elim­i­na­tion of impu­ri­ties and waste prod­ucts. Spinal twists are sim­i­lar to “ring­ing a tow­el dry,” our abdom­i­nal region is “squeezed” to acti­vate the kid­ney and liv­er, which pro­motes blood cir­cu­la­tion to remove meta­bol­ic waste and toxins.

To get into the pose, lie on your back with your arms at shoul­der height. Slow­ly, place feet on the floor and drop your knees to the right and your face to the left. Hold for 30–60 sec­onds and repeat on the alter­nate side.

Seat­ed For­ward Bend
For­ward bends com­press the abdom­i­nal organs to aid in the removal of waste prod­uct and stim­u­lates digestion.

To get into the pose, sit on the floor with legs extend­ed. Inhale arms over­head, and exhale hinge from your hip and reach your arms onto the legs. Hold for 30–60 seconds.

Bow Pose
Bow pose stim­u­lates the abdom­i­nal organs with com­pres­sion of the core into the ground. It allows the breath to flow freely through the lungs and aids in poor digestion.

To get into the pose, lie on your stom­ach and bend your knees. Reach your arms to hold onto the feet or ankles. Inhale life through the chest and keep the thighs off the ground. Think of lift­ing from the knees and press­ing the feet into the hands. Hold for 30 – 60 seconds.

Legs up the Wall Pose
This pose pro­motes cir­cu­la­tion from the feet to the legs. As grav­i­ty pulls the blood down to the abdom­i­nal region, it stim­u­lates the diges­tive sys­tem. This is a restora­tive pose, which aides in the calm­ing of the ner­vous system.

To get into the pose, sit next to wall, with your right hip near the wall. As you start to lie back, slow­ly bring your right leg, then the left up the wall. Place arms at shoul­der height and adjust as need­ed to where the legs are straight and com­fort­able. Hold for three to five minutes.